Uptime

Measure of the time a system has been running

Uptime is a measure of the time a computer system has been running without interruption. It is often used as a metric to assess the reliability or stability of a system. Uptime is typically measured in units of time, such as seconds, minutes, hours, or days.

Overview

Uptime is an important metric in information technology and telecommunications. It is often used to describe the operational performance of servers, network devices, and other computer systems. High uptime is generally desirable, as it indicates that a system is reliable and has been running without failures or interruptions.

In contrast, downtime refers to periods when a system is not operational. Downtime can be caused by various factors, including hardware failure, software bugs, power outages, or maintenance activities.

Measurement

Uptime is typically measured using system logs or monitoring tools. Many operating systems provide built-in utilities to check the uptime of a system. For example, on Unix-like systems, the `uptime` command can be used to display the current uptime. On Windows systems, the Task Manager or the `systeminfo` command can be used to obtain uptime information.

Htop displaying system uptime on a Unix-like system

Importance

Maintaining high uptime is crucial for business continuity and service level agreements (SLAs). Organizations often strive to achieve "five nines" (99.999%) uptime, which translates to approximately 5 minutes of downtime per year. Achieving such high levels of uptime requires robust infrastructure, redundancy, and effective monitoring and maintenance practices.

Tools and Monitoring

Various tools and software are available to monitor and report uptime. These tools can provide alerts and reports on system performance, helping administrators to identify and address potential issues before they lead to downtime.

File:Win7-tskman-perf.png

Windows Task Manager showing system performance and uptime

Related pages

• Downtime
• Reliability engineering
• Service level agreement
• System monitoring

References

• "Uptime." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptime
• "System Uptime." Techopedia. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24745/system-uptime

Uptime

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